One To Watch | Simracing604 On The Best Sounding Racing Sim

[Paul Jeffrey]

The awesome Simracing604 has been at it again today, releasing an interesting new video as he looks to compare audio of two popular, and widely regarded as best sounding, racing simulations.

In this new video, the smooth tones of Mike at Simracing604 looks into the topic of racing car engine audio representations in two specific simulations - RaceRoom Racing Experience and Assetto Corsa Competizione - both widely regarded by the sim racing community as at the very peak of audio excellence in our genre.

Mike explores how both games represent the virtual counterparts they are attempting to simulate, and ponders that all important question - which one is best?

Want to see more from Simracing604? Check out his excellent YouTube channel: click here.

 

[Mr Latte]

Good video yeah comparisons with different cars are err, mmm well not ideal.
So good we got some 1-1 examples.

Still, things to ask....

How many of you have actually looked at and determined not just how the audio sounds but how different effects are placed over 2 Channel or indeed Multichannel configurations? What ways has the audio been mixed? Why do we not get more audio options in titles?

Actually, I can't think of a video anywhere that breaks down the audio of popular driving sims more deeply. For example which offers the best surround, which the best stereo separation?

What are the best soundcards or modes to use? Are there ways to improve/alter the audio experience? We also see very little of these aspects or features on audio hardware or how best to configure it from all the sim-based YouTubers.

 

[THK84]

Both opened up a world for me when I started racing with my bluetooth WH-1000XM3. Other games often feel more flat sounding compared to speakers with the subwoofer turned up. Whilst ACC & RR come alive even more.

 

[BeliacosGR]

On the same car sound i prefer ACC , but we have to mention that RRE has one of the best if not the best sounds on sim racing by far any other sim.

 

[Lino Carreira]

Too much echo in RRRE, they always abused that to sound powerfull..ACC on the other hand doesnt abuse that and sounds powerfull.. and tbh...you cant compare the brutal sound of an Audi Quattro to any GT3 or 4 so...this comparision doesnt look fair at all... also... The Audi on iRacing also sounds very nice, this just to exemplify that the car you are earing also helps to the notion of better ... grab the same car and same track on both sims and then compare my humble opinion is that ACC sounds way more believable without abusing special effects..only thing that pisses me off is the on/off switch i feel in ACC when during a race i pull to the side and turn my engine off... the other sounds all of a sudden seem to turn on, might be do to number of channels or performance but its my only annoying thing in what sound matters on ACC..

 

[WPxNJ]

OT here. What sound in the AMS2 190E DTM car!

And I've the driven the #18 190E in RR plenty. It's alive in AMS2.

 

[anthony monteil]

Both sims are great depending on which car you choose. BMW M6 in ACC sounds more realistic (correct gearbox sound) while Bentley sounds more realistic in RaceRoom (except gearbox sound). It's a pity you didn't mention the WTCC and WTCR class, which NO OTHER sim on the market except RaceRoom has. In these classes, the RaceRoom sound is a masterpiece!!!

Ps. In terms of sounds, there is still a lot to do and I hope that both sims will improve sound positioning in 5.1, 7.1 multi-channel systems. I miss the positioning of Automobilista 1. On a perfectly calibrated system, the sound of the engine is always heard more from the front, regardless of whether you are driving a Mercedes or a Porsche. It should not be like that...

In R3E, if you're using 5.1 or 7.1, you should hear the rear engines in your rear speakers. If not, then, it might be a difference of surround decoding (there's still huge differences between the audio systems).
I guess the best would be to add a front/rear slider in the game options

 

[anthony monteil]

Too much echo in RRRE, they always abused that to sound powerfull..ACC on the other hand doesnt abuse that and sounds powerfull.. and tbh...you cant compare the brutal sound of an Audi Quattro to any GT3 or 4 so...this comparision doesnt look fair at all... also... The Audi on iRacing also sounds very nice, this just to exemplify that the car you are earing also helps to the notion of better ... grab the same car and same track on both sims and then compare my humble opinion is that ACC sounds way more believable without abusing special effects..only thing that pisses me off is the on/off switch i feel in ACC when during a race i pull to the side and turn my engine off... the other sounds all of a sudden seem to turn on, might be do to number of channels or performance but its my only annoying thing in what sound matters on ACC..

In R3E, you can adjust the external reverb volume through the audio options.
And there's no abuse, it's just the way cars sound in real life on a racetrack .

The fact that the reverb/delay effects are in mono can make them feel too prominent, which I agree is far from ideal. This is clearly why the external reverbs sound much more natural in ACC. Sadly, there's no way to get some stereo reverb effects in R3E for now.

About the cockpit sound, we don't have real time effects in cockpit views in R3E.
Also, the amount of reverb can vary a lot from one computer to another, as those effects are generated by the audio chipset and the soundcard.

 

[TheRealCeeBee]

what is the r3e track at 4m00? Pretty much cannot stand r3e but never seen that track?

 

[Majuh]

what is the r3e track at 4m00? Pretty much cannot stand r3e but never seen that track?

Norisring

 

[Jordan N.]

I think ACC sounds better in cockpit, but Raceroom sounds better trackside.

 

[Lino Carreira]

In R3E, you can adjust the external reverb volume through the audio options.
And there's no abuse, it's just the way cars sound in real life on a racetrack .

The fact that the reverb/delay effects are in mono can make them feel too prominent, which I agree is far from ideal. This is clearly why the external reverbs sound much more natural in ACC. Sadly, there's no way to get some stereo reverb effects in R3E for now.

About the cockpit sound, we don't have real time effects in cockpit views in R3E.
Also, the amount of reverb can vary a lot from one computer to another, as those effects are generated by the audio chipset and the soundcard.

Well it does sound over exaggerated sometimes and a bit fake ( The echo i mean ), thanks for the explanation though , i tend to not fiddle with audio options when stuff gets separated , i venture as much as changing general volume the rest i do not touch because whoever did the sound will surely know gazillion times more then me on how to balance all the sounds...but ill take a shot at that one next time ill fire RRRE

 

[anthony monteil]

I understand what you mean about the echo, it doesn't sound as natural as I would like for sure. This is a limitation of the sound engine though, there's no adjustable parameters for these effects, only the amount setting, and there's only one echo/delay preset and a few reverb presets, but we can only use one at a time.

From there, we had the choice to take it or live without it. But I still prefer it with the reverb/echo effects as it sounds so flat without them

The best way to enjoy it is to adjust the effects volume to your own taste.
Don't hesitate to tweak these sliders in the audio options menu, there's not one single truth about sounds, the same way as for vision, colors etc, we all hear and see different things. The audio experience is unique for each person.

Anyway, this is the best we can provide in R3E right now, but let's see how it will evolve in the future .

 

[Ami_M3]

Raceroom is still the king, but ACC is not bad either